[va-richmond-general] interesting observations/penguin in Alaska

    While driving along either Rt. 250 or Rt. 6 in Goochland recently (doesn't 
really matter which), I saw a small, very bright blue thing in the middle of 
the road. My first thought was that it was a bottle that someone had discarded. 
Imagine my surprise when it took off! It turned to be an Indigo Bunting - just 
sitting in the middle of the road.
    Also had a Red-shouldered Hawk fly a few feet in front of the van I driving 
at the time, giving a couple of kids a nice look. Another two seconds either 
way and we either wouldn't have seen him or he would have hit us.
    We have a lake at camp that we go canoeing on. The water level is down 
about 2 feet on it, creating/exposing mud flats that haven't normally been 
seen/exposed. The only shore bird that has shown up there (that I've seen, 
anyway) has been a Killdeer, though we followed (while in the canoe) a female 
American Goldfinch as she was walking along the flats. We had really nice long 
looks at her for about 5 minutes or so. We've also found a couple of discarded 
dragonfly castes/shed skin from the larvae (I'm guessing that's what they were, 
based on a picture of one). I had never seen one before. One was attached to a 
rock in the water, the other to a tree stump in the water. Very interesting.
    The kids seem to be interested in everything. If we're driving and I saw 
"Turkey Vulture(s)," they want to know exactly where they are and how I know 
that is what they are. 

Michael Shapiro
Richmond
sc.tanager@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



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